Pan Seared Sockeye Salmon with Swiss Chard

Posted by johngl

For whatever reason, the Sockeye Salmon has been great this year.  I don’t know if the distribution channels are finally running smoother and delivering fresher product or what.  All I know is that this really isn’t the same salmon that was around a few years ago.

The color is leaning to the redder side of orange and there is no fishy-funk smell whatsoever.

Just check these out!  I’ve separated the mid-back and upper-back (top) from the tender and belly sections (bottom).  That is the tail section to the right.  If you look closely near the point of the tail, you can see a dark spot.  That is a bruise.  I wound up cutting that out.  This fish must have put up a good fight.

Anyway, if you look at a cross section of the whole fillet, it looks like this:

If you take a look right  ? here, you might notice a vertical line and a lobe to either side of it.  To the left, is the mid-back and upper back.  To the right is the tender and belly meat.  The closer to the belly, the more fat there is. You might be able to see the slight difference in color (lighter to the right) as well as slightly thicker fat veins.

Anyway, I tend to use the “back” parts for pan-seared dishes and the tenders and belly parts for tartare, sushi, sashimi, or even ceviche type dishes.

Obviously, this is a pan-seared dish (hence the descriptive title).

So, I ran out to the back porch and cut a couple of fistsful of Swiss Chard.

I’ve been harvesting off of these plants for months. When it got really hot, I had to move them to a shadier part of the porch, but it’s really great to cut those leaves while they are small an really tender.

Anyway, cut, wash, and devein the chard as described in an earlier post.  It’s really kind of amazing how much sand and grit sticks to leafy greens, so I tend to wash and rinse three times.  I use the rinse water to hydrate my plants (so I’m not as wasteful as I might seem).

While the chard is soaking in some cold water, heat up a pan over medium heat.

While it is warming, chop up a small onion or large shallot. I tend to like shallots better as they are a bit milder than onions, but since these are going to be sautéed in butter until they’re caramelized, it doesn’t matter much. Onions are also way cheaper than shallots, too.

Pull the pan off the heat and add a tiny bit of butter.  If it smokes and disappears, the pan is too hot.  If it just hisses a bit and melts, it’s perfect. Add a few more tablespoons of butter and drop in the onions (or shallots). Add a tiny bit of salt as it helps to pull the moisture out of the onion. Also, if you are using strongly scented onions, you might want to add just a pinch of sugar to the sizzling mass.

After about ten minutes, the onions should be about ready for the chard.  Oddly enough, that ten minutes should be just about the right amount of time it takes to sear off the salmon.

Salt and pepper back of salmon and cut it in half cross ways.  Put a teaspoon or two of corn starch into a strainer and just tap the edge of the strainer with a spoon.  A nice, white, light, snow-like dust falls evenly over the fillets when you do it this way. Just apply the corn starch to one side of the fillet — just a dusting! (One of these days, I will take pictures of how I do this, but the corn-starching is a two handed operation and I haven’t figured out how to take pictures with my teeth).

Get some olive oil (not extra virgin) heated (in a heavy pan) to a shimmer.  Yes, shimmer.  I’m not drunk yet.  I said shimmer not simmer.  You’ll only need enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan with about 1/16th inch. It heats up really fast.

Just as it barely starts to smoke, lay in your salmon, corn-starch side down. After about two minutes, flip it over, and turn off the heat under the pan and let fish just sit there and sizzle while you wilt the chard.

Quickly use a salad spinner to dry off the chard, and toss it into the pan with the still sizzling caramelized onion.  You may want to add some more butter.  Mmmm.  Butter.  Good. Turn the chard with tongs until just wilted.

In about two minutes, everything will be ready to serve:

The crispy-fried corn starch just adds the tiniest bit of crunch!

Make sure to pay proper homage to the fish.  It was killed just so you could eat it.  Remember, our food doesn’t magically appear on the grocers’ shelves.

Please, respectfully enjoy the nutritious bounty these wonderful Sockeyes provide.